Tarin Enlists Reasons of Inflation in Pakistan
He said that overall production tumbled due to the covid outbreak in Pakistan, and even inflation hiked to about 17.1% in July 2020
Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin along with SAPM on Food Security Jamshed Iqbal Cheema and Broadcasting Minister Farrukh Habib shed light on the factors that caused inflation in Pakistan.
Tarin stressed that the incumbent government would prioritize increasing agricultural production.
“For the past 15-20 years, no attention was given to the agriculture sector which led to the downfall of farmers”, he said.
The prices of sugar and wheat soared 41% and 32% internationally but in Pakistan, they remained unchanged at 11% and 15 % respectively.
“We are not passing on the interactional commodity rates to consumers in Pakistan”, he said.
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He added that despite being an agricultural economy, Pakistan imports pulses, wheat, and vegetable oil.
Further, Tarin added that farmers will get international rates for their crops, and the government has taken responsibility to boost agricultural yield.
Tarin said that overall production tumbled due to the covid outbreak in Pakistan, and even inflation hiked to about 17.1% in July 2020.
Further, the finance minister said that utilizing the data accumulated through the Ehsaas program, they now know the low-income groups and will target them for cash subsidies.
Tarin said Pakistan’s food inflation stood at 15.1% in urban and 17.8% in rural areas in July 2020, which has declined to 10.2% and 9.1% respectively.
He added, the sugar price increased from $303 to $430 per ton, and edible oil prices have also almost doubled in the last 3 years.
Tarin highlight that going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led to rupee devaluation from 104 to 166 against the dollar, which increased the inflation rate.
On the other hand, Farrukh Habib blamed PML-N and PPP for focusing on money laundering, fake accounts, and corruption in their tenure instead of taking steps to increase the production of the country and improve the economy.
He said that Kamyab Jawan Programme, Low Income Housing Scheme, and Sehat Insaf Card schemes will be facilitating low-income groups.
